The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry into plastic food and drink packaging.
The Committee wants to track progress on developing eco-friendly alternatives and how they perform. They also aim to explore the idea of a tax on plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled materials and the idea of recouping recycling costs from packaging producers themselves.
The Committee is seeking written submissions that address the following questions:
- What progress have packaging manufacturers, food producers and retailers made in developing and using alternatives to, and reducing consumers’ use of plastic food and drink packaging?
- What are the barriers to and opportunities for further innovation?
- How do alternatives to plastic perform compared to plastic food and drink packaging?
- Are there food and drink products for which it is essential to use plastic, or for which it is more difficult to develop and use alternatives?
- What impact will the following two Government proposals have on reducing plastic food and drink packaging?
a. an extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging to ensure the costs of collection and recycling are borne by those that produce packaging and place it on the market, and
b. a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic, to encourage manufacturers to produce more sustainable packaging and create greater demand for recycled material? - Is there adequate research and development funding and support for alternatives to plastic food and drink packaging?
The closing date for submissions is 2 May 2019.